89 of 92 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A cut above, March 27, 2009
There are many sleep problems and no silver bullet to fix them all. This book addresses many of them and seems to be a cut above average for sleep books. The CD is excellent.
My challenge is sleeping through the night and I have tried lots of things -- books, the local sleep clinic, a CPAP (I have never felt so tired in my life as the day after I tried it: once was enough), sleeping pills and most recently this book. It is written very much in the style one would expect from a TV self help guru: lots of repeating how well it works, nearly blank pages to make it longer, some exercises and a CD. The exercises (with my rating of how they helped me) are:
Reduce your worries *
Practice feeling drowsy ***
Calming the internal voice **
Systematic relaxation ****
Changing your story
Value yourself * (good thing to do, but didn't put me to sleep)
Letting the feeling unfold *
Asking the unconscious mind to help you* (So far)
Release the day *
Tapping your natural ability to sleep *
Image streaming *
Theatre of the mind **
People with a specific sleep problem should not expect most of the exercises to be targeted to their problem -- I believe a realistic goal is a couple (three or four tops) and by that standard, the book is a success. The exercise described as best suited to my problem (waking up way too early, roaring to go) is the theatre of mind. Unfortunately, when I try to do it, all I can visualize is what I was thinking about before I started the exercise. But some of the others were helpful.
The book contains much of the same advice as other sleep books (no naps, no TV before bedtime, no clocks in the bedroom etc.). I would say that part of the program is about average for a self help book.
The best thing about the book is the CD. My wife and I have taken to listening to it at bedtime and I have done well enough getting back to sleep that I have been able to cope without taking a single sleeping pill since we started. I can complain about the stereotypical self help format, but I can't argue with the success of the CD.
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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sleep of Faith, September 21, 2009
I was very skeptical when I started this book, but by following the advice I have become a full-fledged believer in the power of Paul McKenna and his message. I noticed a definite improvement in the amount and quality of my sleep within the first four days of using this system.
My sleep problem was waking up in the middle of the night and staying up for an hour or so before going back to bed; this was leaving me groggy and unable to stay alert throughout the day. Following the instructions in "I Can Make You Sleep," I cut out caffiene after 2 pm, made sure to have at least 3 hours between dinner and bedtime, didn't take any naps, made my bedroom darker by adding curtains to my windows, wore a nasal strip to improve my breathing, listened to the audio CD while going to sleep, and put away my laptop to eliminate middle-of-the-night work sessions.
I am now thrilled to report that I am sleeping through the night. Just this morning, I woke up and it was still dark outside; I figured that it was the middle of the night, but a quick look at the clock showed that it was actually just before dawn (which is when I actually need to get up).
Awesome book, clearly written with easy-to-follow exercises. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to sleep more, sleep better, or both.
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38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Zzzzz...., April 14, 2009
I've tried dozens of "sleep" CDs and this one is far superior to all of them. I've only heard the end of it twice and went to sleep right after both times. I still occasionally struggle with waking early--which means that most early mornings I am asleep--yea! When I am kept awake by my too busy mind I use my favorite techniques (pretty much the opposite of the previous reviewer) and often I can get back to sleep in a reasonable amount of time. As I continue to practice my favorite techniques, it gets easier to stop thinking and go back to sleep, but even if I get no more relief than I have so far--it's a major improvement and I'm very happy to have found Paul McKenna! The book is fairly short and easy to read. Incidentally, some of the very positive statements he makes about his techniques working are actually NLP and are designed to MAKE you think they work--it's not arrogance or TV guru speak. If he tells you with great conviction that his techniques work well, he is planting the seed of conviction in your mind and you are more likely to have positive results. NLP is an amazing way to get results. Check out Richard Bandler's
Get the Life You Want: The Secrets to Quick and Lasting Life Change with Neuro-Linguistic Programming
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